When he was arrested for murder, the 16-year-old's parents were nowhere to be found.

A memorial of teddy bears and flowers near the intersection of Woodlawn Avenue and Garfield Street in Middletown, where a 17-year-old teenager was fatally shot on May 29.(Photo: The Enquirer/Keith BieryGolick)Buy Photo

But it still wasn't a good day for the suspect, whom The Enquirer is not naming due to his age.

His attorney and mother say he didn't understand his rights when talking to police. Authorities say he confessed to fatally shooting another teen on May 29.

Joseph Davis and his family moved to Middletown last year for a better life. The 17-year-old was shot and killed on May 29.(Photo: Screenshot: Facebook)

Defense Attorney Dawn Garrett wants those statements thrown out and for an evaluation to determine if her client is competent to understand what is happening.

Garrett brought copies of an individualized learning plan the teen had been on since third grade, when he was attending Princeton City Schools in Hamilton County. The attorney said he is failing English in school now and has trouble reading and writing.

The judge essentially dismissed this evidence – mostly because the teen has been in her courtroom before.

The 16-year-old has been charged in juvenile court several times, according to police records. One time in 2016, he ran from police with a gun in his pocket after his friends got scared and called 911.

Middletown Division of Police(Photo: Provided)

They were afraid, the boys told police, because the teen kept pointing a black handgun at them and clicking it.

They told police he wanted to play Russian roulette. When they refused, the boy said he was going outside to shoot the gun, according to a police report.

Judge Romans said she personally questioned the teen before accepting a guilty plea in that case and made sure he understood what was happening.

"There was no mention that he was ever alleged to be incompetent," Romans said in court. "Many children are on IEPs."

The 16-year-old is accused of shooting and killing Joseph Davis, a 17-year-old student at Marshall High School in Middletown.

Joseph was described by those who knew him as a quiet teenager who loved to draw. He boxed at a local gym and could often be seen dribbling a basketball around town.

He recently got his first tattoo. It did not have time to heal before he was killed.

It was just before midnight on May 29 when witnesses say a boy came running through the neighborhood screaming, "They're shooting him."

Amanda Proffitt, a 37-year-old mother, ran to Joseph. She remembers seeing him splayed out on the ground near a bike, his eyes staring blankly up at the sky.

He had been shot in the neck.

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A memorial of teddy bears and flowers near the intersection of Woodlawn Avenue and Garfield Street in Middletown, where a 17-year-old teenager was fatally shot on May 29.(Photo: The Enquirer/Keith BieryGolick)

Joseph's mom has said her son was killed because he refused to join a gang.

He and his family had moved to Middletown in the fall to get away from violence in Detroit and start fresh.

Authorities say the suspect in his death was a member of the Road Runner gang and was with other gang members before and after the shooting.